Thursday, January 21, 2010

Cook's Prerogative?

So I feel a little guilty. I've been married 12 years, and have known for about 11 of those 12 years that my husband just really doesn't like beef stew. Yet for 11 years, I have continued to make beef stew. Not very often, maybe 3 or 4 times a year. I really thought about it last night for the first time. I made a nice savory, beefy stew with onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, beef, and the easy stew packet mix from McCormick. My husband, always the sport, ate his bowl without complaint. The only way I could tell he really didn't love it is that he "washed it down" with copious amounts of bread. Like almost half a loaf. My eight-year-old tasted one bite and refused to eat any more until we ordered him to eat his compulsory "five bites". My two year old had a bit more, but not a lot. And then there was me, savoring every delicious morsel. The truth is I really like beef stew a lot. I am a big comfort-food girl, especially in the cold weather months. I love the satisfying beefy taste of stew. I love the texture of the tender veggies and the meat almost melting in your mouth. I admit not being able to comprehend why my family dislikes this dish. Yet, here we were last night.
So I had a thought-should I continue to selfishly make this dish for my own enjoyment only? Is it the cook's prerogative to make things that she likes without regard to what everyone else thinks? The funny thing about this dish is it's not even really a recipe. It's not like it's an insult to my cooking skills that they don't like it. It's not really even cooking--chop everything up, dump in water and the mix and turn on the crockpot. I also wondered, are there dishes I cook that I don't like but I know my husband or family does? I can't think of any! Of course there are things I make for my kids that I think are nasty, case in point: boxed Mac and Cheese (like any normal American kid they don't like homemade mac and cheese!), hot dogs, etc. But those are not things I eat. I make them for the kids and make something else for me.
I still haven't come to a decision about this. But especially after writing about beef stew, I can't imagine never making it again. My mouth was practically watering trying to describe the taste and I was secretly grateful there's a serving of last night's dinner tucked away in a corner of my fridge. One of life's great dilemmas . . . .

2 comments:

  1. I want some of your beef stew! There are too many things I DON'T make because no one likes it around here...You're entitled to "indulge" yourself once in a while I think, even if no one else loves it like you do! I should more often...

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  2. That sounds so delicious! So sad that Jake hasn't come to love it after all these years. Mom's Beef Stew was my favorite food growing up- I drew pictures of it I still have in my journal! Even with Beef Stew Poems! ha. But I agree with Jenny- that you are entitled to indulge yourself even if no one else appreciates it like you do!

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